


Meat-tivity

by ericsonclan



Series: Ericson's Diner AU [50]
Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, F/M, Friendship, Gen, Hijinks & Shenanigans, nativity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-04
Updated: 2020-12-04
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:33:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27882297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ericsonclan/pseuds/ericsonclan
Summary: Marlon and Mitch get a brilliant idea.
Relationships: Clementine & Marlon (Walking Dead: Done Running), Clementine & Mitch (Walking Dead: Done Running), Clementine/Louis (Walking Dead: Done Running), Marlon & Mitch (Walking Dead: Done Running)
Series: Ericson's Diner AU [50]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1688374
Kudos: 2





	Meat-tivity

**Author's Note:**

> (by Laura)

Clementine walked into the breakroom to find Marlon and Mitch tittering and chuckling as they both crouched over Marlon’s phone at the table. Raising an eyebrow, Clementine made her way over to them, trying to get a look at what was on the phone from behind.

Marlon was the first to notice her. “Oh, hey Clem. Just got in?”

“Yep. What are you guys giggling about?”

Mitch snorted. “We were laughing at this whack ass list of Christmas nativities Marlon found. People do the weirdest things for Christmas,”

“Oh yeah? Like what?” Clementine leaned forward to see the photos. There certainly were a lot of them. Some of the nativities were kitschy like a clay owl nativity or a balloon animal one while others were geeky like a Star Wars nativity featuring only R2Ds and another comprised of all the Justice league superheroes.

“Bet Aasim has the R2D2 one at his place,” Mitch commented with a smirk.

Marlon chuckled. “Wonder what Ruby will think when she sees that,”

Clementine smiled at the pair’s banter as they continued to scroll through the nativity pictures. The nativities didn’t seem that crazy to her, but she was glad that these two were having a good time with them.

“Now that one’s cute,” Marlon commented as they scrolled past a picture of an all dog nativity.

“Eh, this one is more my speed,” Mitch pointed to a nativity featuring various kinds of alcohol as the figures. Suddenly Mitch stopped scrolling through the list on Marlon’s phone. “Holy shit, this is the best one of all!” He held it up so both Marlon and Clementine could see it clearly. The photo showed a casserole dish on top of which was all the standard pieces of the nativity: barn, shepherds, baby Jesus, but every piece was composed entirely of meat. “It’s a meat-tivity!” Mitch exclaimed with glee.

“Dude, that’s awesome!” Marlon chuckled before taking a screenshot of the nativity. “Gotta show that to Sophie later. It’ll crack her up,”

“You don’t think…” Mitch began, slowly eyeing Marlon then looking up at Clementine.

Clementine raised an eyebrow. “Think what?”

“Should we maybe… make a meat-tivity of our own?” Mitch’s voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper.

“Hell yeah!” Marlon raised his hand in the air for a high five which Mitch immediately returned. “Let’s do it!”

“You guys have fun with that. I’ve got work to do,” Clementine declared as she walked out of the break room. Both guys were still discussing the meat-tivity as she left. It was good to see them getting into the Christmas spirit, that is, if a project like this counted.

“Alright guys, the moment has arrived!” Mitch announced as everyone gathered round the table in the break room. Louis had allowed the morning meeting to be interrupted when Mitch and Marlon declared they had something special to show the whole crew. Marlon stood behind Mitch, proudly holding a tinfoil casserole dish covered by a dishcloth. Placing it in the center of the table, he began a drumroll. “I present to you the MEAT-TIVITY!!” Mitch bellowed “1…2…3!”

The dishcloth was pulled back to reveal the most bizarre nativity any of them had ever seen. The base of the casserole dish was a meatloaf, forming the foundation upon which the nativity would be built. Slabs of meatloaf had also been cut out of the corners to be used as building blocks for the stable in which the nativity took place. The stable ceiling however was made of bacon, draped over a tinfoil skeleton and baked to crispness.

All the figures from the shepherds to the wise men to Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus were made from miniature sausages. Their clothes appeared to be a mix of bologna and more bacon while their arms were made from toothpicks. Peppercorns formed the eyes of all the cast and the three wise men all had teeny tinfoil crowns. Some of the animals had been made out of sausages as well, though these ones seemed to be stuck together on burnt pretzel bits.

“Well, what does everyone think?” Mitch asked with a cheeky grin.

“What’s that?” Violet pointed to a vague brown blob resting against the side of the stable.

“That’s a camel,” Marlon replied. “It’s made out of hamburger,”

“It looks like manure,”

“It sort of… melted after we baked it,”

Ruby looked truly pissed. Her arms were crossed and her eyes narrowed as she stared down both boys. “Well I for one find the whole thing offensive. It’s sacrilegious!”

“More like sacri-licious,” Mitch quipped, popping one of the wise men in his mouth.

Louis stepped forward to deescalate the situation. “Well you two, as much as we love your enthusiasm and creative spirit, we can’t have you keep your, um, ‘meat-tivity’ here at work. It could be seen as funny, but it also could understandably offend people,”

Marlon’s eyes were sad as he looked down at his meat-tivity then back at Ruby. “Sorry, Ruby. We didn’t mean anything by it. It was just a joke,”

Ruby’s eyes softened. “I know you didn’t mean anything by it, Sug, but it just don’t sit right with me to see baby Jesus wrapped in bacon and lying on a meatball manger,”

“It is a bit much,” Brody agreed quietly.

“I think it’s awesome!” Willy declared, smiling over at his big brother who’d let him stay for the big reveal.

“Yeah!” AJ agreed, high-fiving Willy. “It’s the best nativity ever!”

“Clearly opinions are split. That’s why it has to go. Sorry, guys,” Louis said with a shrug.

“Well what are _we_ supposed to do with this?” Mitch asked with an exasperated huff. “I don’t want this thing stinking up my fridge at home!”

“You could throw it out…?” Louis suggested.

“But we put so much work into it!” Marlon protested. ‘It’d be a shame to just throw it all away!”

“You could eat it,” Clementine suggested. “It is made out of meat after all,”

That piqued the guys’ interest. Marlon and Mitch shared a long look before both nodding. Sitting down on opposite sides of the table, they dug in, shoving their hands into the meatloaf and pulling out large chunks.

“Good Lord, use some cutlery!” Ruby protested. “This is a restaurant for goodness’ sake!”

“This is how real men eat!” Mitch shot back, his mouth full of meatloaf. “Anyone who wants to join in, go right ahead!”

They didn’t get very many takers. Most people headed out after Louis gave a few quick announcements. A few lingered to watch the carnage while the adventurous few tried a couple bites themselves. Willy and A.J. were the first volunteers and the most invested in eating some of the mysterious meat-tivity. Clementine watched her little brother in amusement as he dug in with his bare hands and participated in the manly destruction of the meat-tivity. She was glad this had taken place on a Saturday so A.J. could join in the fun. Pulling out her phone, she snuck a few pictures of the meat-tivity being devoured.

Marlon paused and smiled for a photo as he saw it was being taken. His face was covered in bacon grease and bits of meatloaf littered his chin. “Can you send me that photo, Clem? I got some shots of the meat-tivity in its different stages and the finished product. That picture will round out the set,”

“Sure, Marlon,” Clementine glanced over to see Louis hesitantly nibbling on one of the sheep. She captured the moment and grinned as her boyfriend self-consciously blushed at being caught in the act.

“It’s not half bad,” he murmured, biting into the miniature sausage torso.

“If you say so. I think I’ll stick to photography,”

They got about two thirds of the way through the meat-tivity before all the participants were too full to continue and the rest of the creation was inevitably thrown into the trash. As Clementine scrolled through the pictures of the impromptu feast, she felt a happy glow within herself. Had meat-tivity actually kickstarted the Christmas spirit within her? She supposed crazier things had happened. Tucking her phone away, Clementine headed toward the front of the house to start her shift. In the end, the meat-tivity had indeed brought several of them joy; it truly was a Christmas miracle.


End file.
